


On All Hallows' Eve

by kythen



Series: Youkai and Exorcist AU [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Demons, Halloween, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life, Youkai, daichi is secretly the cardcaptor sakura of this world, exorcist!Daichi, nekomata!Kuroo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 10:52:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16474181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kythen/pseuds/kythen
Summary: Halloween, a time of candy, costumes, and mischief.Daichi thinks he could have done without the last one.





	On All Hallows' Eve

"Kuroo, stay still!" Daichi makes another grab for him but the black cat only weaves away from his hand with a sniff, his golden eyes flashing indignantly at Daichi.

 _"No way,"_ Kuroo says, sitting out of Daichi's reach and starting to wash a paw, his nose upturned at the pair of cat-sized bat wings that Daichi has in his other hand. _"You want_ me _to wear that? It's demeaning. I'm a cat, not a bat."_

"Come on, it'll be cute," Daichi wheedles, walking over to Kuroo on his knees. "Kuroo, you'd look so adorable with little bat wings. Just try it on for me please?"

Kuroo eyes Daichi as he approaches, his long tail lashing crossly behind him. In this form, he looks like nothing more than an ordinary housecat but Daichi knows the sheer power lurking within that unassuming form. Even with the contract binding him, the nekomata could seriously hurt Daichi if he tried. Plus, powerful spirit or not, Kuroo had a set of sharp claws that Daichi didn't fancy getting scratched by.

 _"I don't get why you have to celebrate this 'Halloween' by dressing up in ridiculous monster costumes when you spend every other day of the year fighting and exorcising youkai,"_ Kuroo grumbles. _"Are you seeing the irony here, Daichi?"_

"It's fun," Daichi says, reaching out for Kuroo tentatively. When Kuroo doesn't move away, Daichi runs a hand down his smooth-furred back before scritching him under the chin, where Kuroo likes it the best. "And that's precisely why I like it when Halloween comes around. I face youkai all the time but the general populace doesn't even know that they exist so it's nice to have an entire day where people walk around as monsters and people don't even bat an eye."

 _"You realise that Halloween is barely celebrated in Japan?"_ Kuroo points out. _"You're far more likely to see people dressed up in monster costumes during cosplay events than Halloween."_

"Oh, shush, you." Daichi scoops Kuroo up with one arm and Kuroo yowls loudly in protest but doesn't do anything more than try to wriggle out of Daichi's hold, keeping his claws sheathed as he bats at Daichi with soft paws.

 _"This isn't in our contract!"_ Kuroo squirms, stretching his long jet-black body in a bow as he tries to avoid Daichi's hand.

"Neither is buying you high grade sanma even if it's out of season," Daichi retorts, hooking the wing strap around one of Kuroo's forelegs deftly. "Now keep still. You're going to look so cute, Kuroo. Just trust me on this."

After Daichi fits the wings snugly onto Kuroo's back, Kuroo leaps out of his arms and lands on his feet lightly, his fur ruffled from struggling against Daichi. Despite the show he put up, Daichi knows that Kuroo could have broken free any time he pleased. Maybe he was curious about how the bat wings looked on him, being the vain cat that he was, and Daichi had made sure to lay it on thick with the comments about cute he would look to pique Kuroo's interest.

But he doesn't need to fake it when Kuroo is the most adorable thing on four legs Daichi has ever seen and Daichi stares starry-eyed as the black cat twists and turns, making the wings bounce up and down on his back in a flapping motion as he tries to see how they look on him.

"You look so adorable, Kuroo!" Daichi coos, making a grabbing motion for Kuroo, unable to hold back his excitement at the sight of the bat-cat.

Kuroo goes motionless, his ears flicking in surprise as he stares back at Daichi, his golden eyes wide and wondering. _"Am I that cute to you?"_

Daichi fumbles for his phone excitedly. "Here, I'll take a picture and show you."

Kuroo stays still as Daichi snaps the shot, even tilting his head to show Daichi his best angles, and Daichi can't help but take a few more for posteriority. He wants to have a few to select from when uploads them onto his Twitter dedicated to "Kuro-san".

 _"I've never seen you make such a big fuss over me before,"_ Kuroo comments offhandedly as he turns in a slow circle, stretching his long body and limbs to show off his sleekness. He hops back into Daichi's lap when Daichi beckons him over to look at his photos and Daichi can sense the waves of smugness rolling off him as he preens. _"Well, look at that. I don't look too bad."_

"I told you so." Daichi holds his phone over Kuroo's head as he starts sorting through the photos. "I saw someone put bat wings on their cat online and I knew I just _had_ to get them for you."

 _"Am I cuter than them?"_ Kuroo paws at Daichi's thigh questioningly as he tilts his face up and looks up at Daichi with big golden eyes.

Daichi chuckles and pets Kuroo on the head. "Definitely."

Kuroo sprawls out lazily on Daichi's lap, his mission accomplished. _"Good. So where's your Halloween costume, Daichi? I don't believe I've seen it around."_

"I'm putting it on later."

 _"Is it anything sexy?"_ Kuroo asks flirtatiously, his golden gaze gleaming through half-slitted eyes.

Daichi snorts and runs a hand over Kuroo's soft head absently. "Yeah, right."

 _"I mean, I think you could pull it off."_ Kuroo bats at Daichi's hand with his paws, playing with it idly. _"Like... a sexy onmyouji outfit. That's not too far from the truth."_

Daichi bursts out into laughter, lowering his phone as he looks down at Kuroo in amusement. "And how is that supposed to work?"

 _"Just slit it all the way up to here"_ —Kuroo kneads at the area where Daichi's thigh meets his hip— _"and flash those beautiful thighs of yours. Heck, you could even do that for work. It would probably be a huge improvement for mobility."_

"I wear _pants_ while working. Modern clothes. I'm mobile enough, thank you for you concern."

 _"You're no fun."_ Kuroo flops onto his back in Daichi's lap, squashing his bat wings under his weight and, more importantly, exposing his soft furry underbelly to Daichi. Daichi freezes in place, transfixed as Kuroo goes on. _"If I'm being cute for Halloween, you should be something cute to match your beloved familiar."_

Daichi strokes Kuroo's stomach fur lightly with his fingers, putting down his phone to devote his full concentration to the task. When Kuroo doesn't react, still sprawled belly-up on Daichi's lap, Daichi seizes the chance and goes for it, leaning over and putting his face into the soft exposed cat belly that Kuroo has been tempting him with.

The warm fur against his cheeks suddenly vanishes, replaced by black cloth over hard muscle, and a pair of strong, lean arms wrap around Daichi's head, holding him down into a decidedly un-catlike chest. Long legs lock Daichi into place, smooshing Daichi against a flat stomach and abs, and Daichi finds himself facedown on a very human-shaped Kuroo.

Kuroo blows lightly on Daichi's ear, his velvety voice ringing out in the air instead of sliding into Daichi's head directly as he whispers smugly, "Gotcha."

"Gahh, Kuroo!" Daichi struggles against Kuroo's hold, pulling his head free to look up at Kuroo indignantly.

"You always fall for this," Kuroo croons, a wicked smirk wide on his face. "What is it with your weakness for my underbelly?"

"Switch back!" Daichi tells him frantically, tugging at the taut wing straps cutting into Kuroo's broad shoulders. "You're gonna stretch the wings out! They're made for cats, not your big-ass human form."

“You don’t appreciate me in this form enough," Kuroo mutters under him. "I’m good-looking according to your standards, aren’t I?”

“I’d appreciate it more if you actually helped out around the house in this form," Daichi informs him, still fussing over the bat wings. "At least as a cat, you're contributing by being cute."

"Rude," Kuroo sniffs and lets Daichi go, easing him up into a sitting position with his hands on his hips. Then he vanishes from under Daichi and Daichi's backside meets the cold, hard floor as Kuroo returns to his housecat form, sitting right before Daichi as he washes a paw busily. _"Go and put on your Halloween costume. It's going to be nightfall soon."_

"You should have stayed in your human form so that you could help me get dinner ready," Daichi tells him as he retrieves his phone from where it had fallen on the floor.

Kuroo curls up lazily into a lopsided ball, turning his winged back on Daichi and tucking his tail neatly around him. _"I'm helping by being cute."_

Daichi rolls his eyes. Youkai.

He gets to his feet and pads into his room to get dressed.

This year, the neighbourhood association had organised a little trick-or-treating activity for the kids in the area and Daichi had signed up to be one of the houses that the kids would stop at. The Sawamura compound was the oldest house in the neighbourhood, big, sprawling, and grand. Daichi knows that some of the kids are scared of how the big old house looks so he had decorated the front gate with lanterns and pumpkins and bat cut-outs to make it a little more festive-looking. He has bags of candy waiting with bowls in his entranceway and his gate is open, little lamp lights lining the walkway from his front gate to his front door.

He _had_ thought of putting on his old onmyouji outfit to welcome his visitors but it reminded him too much of work and formal ceremonies so Daichi had opted to go for a classic Halloween look, with a swooping black cape over a neatly pressed button-down shirt and slacks, and a witch's pointed hat he had bought to match with Kuroo's bat wings.

Kuroo leaps up onto Daichi's shoulders as he leaves his bedroom in his Halloween costume, expressing his approval of Daichi's costume by playing with the wide brim of Daichi's hat and settling around Daichi's neck like a scarf. Daichi hopes that the kids get a kick out of seeing Kuroo the bat-cat as much as Daichi does and he scratches a purring Kuroo under his chin as he goes to the kitchen to prepare dinner. In keeping with the Halloween spirit, Daichi is going to try his hand at making pumpkin soup and squid ink pasta from scratch and he is looking forward to his Halloween feast.

A bell chimes by the east window and Daichi freezes, Kuroo tensing up around his neck just a split second before. He changes course, veering away from the kitchen to run to the east window where he had his alarm spells affixed to the top of the window frame to warn him of trouble on the horizon. Out of the three bells hanging from the window frame, the centre one swings wildly on an invisible breeze while the other two remain perfectly still, the north-east and south-east directions clear of any supernatural disturbances.

Daichi throws his senses out into the east, following the bell's trail and looking for what it had picked up. From somewhere high up, Daichi smells blood, willingly given, and hears a chorus of chants, inexperienced voices over-pronouncing ritual words with far too much enunciation. Something brews from beneath, far below the surface of the mortal plane, reacting to the incantation and the summoning circle, the conditions for its appearance coming together, and Daichi grabs the chiming bell from the window, snapping the thread holding it there with a light tug.

 _"I bet you five pieces of sanma that it's a group of teens trying to summon a demon on Halloween. How fitting,"_ Kuroo says drily, having sensed whatever Daichi had sensed through their mental link.

"I don't think you're wrong," Daichi sighs, grabbing his work pouch off his shoe cabinet as he throws open the front door. His dinner and the celebrations will have to wait.

Kuroo bounds out of the door, returning to his true nekomata form as he waits for Daichi in the front yard, a demonic black cat easily thrice the size of Daichi with two long, lashing tails instead of the one he had as a housecat. His golden eyes gleam in the falling twilight, lit from within by an inner spiritual fire, and his fangs show sharp and deadly as he curls up his lips in a ghastly cat smile.

Daichi loops the bell securely around his thumb before he climbs onto Kuroo's expansive back, clinging on to his thick black fur as Kuroo takes a running leap and soars into the sky. At the last moment, he realises that he still has his Halloween outfit on and he grabs the brim of his hat before it gets blown off his head by the rushing wind. His cape billows out around him, making him feel mysterious and magical, and Daichi bites back a rueful smile. It isn't like anyone would be able to see him now, with the masking spell that Kuroo keeps up whenever they are in the city. Anyone looking up at the night sky now would only see the falling night and the glowing stars above, not an exorcist and his nekomata familiar soaring by on their way to work.

 _"What are these?"_ Daichi tugs at one of the gigantic bat wings flapping madly on Kuroo's back, the exact replica of the bat wings he had given to Kuroo as a housecat but far larger.

 _"You told me not to stretch them out so I modified them for my use. Could you imagine how ridiculous those teeny tiny wings would look on my back now?"_ Kuroo informs him.

 _"You sure got attached to them."_ Daichi smiles, letting go of a plush wing. Maybe Kuroo would let him sneak in a photo or two of him like this.

Straight up ahead, Daichi senses a burst in spiritual energy from the rooftop of a tall, dilapidated building, which makes his skin crawl with foreboding. The fabric between the mortal and the spiritual planes wears away as a rift tears through it and Kuroo speeds up, sensing Daichi's urgency. The bell rings madly on Daichi's thumb, alerting him to the summoning site he had already been aware of, and he tucks it into his pocket.

 _"The potency of the spell must have gone up because it is All Hallows' Eve,"_ Daichi tells Kuroo grimly. _"While most don't believe in it, the veil between the living and dead_ is _thinner on All Hallows' Eve and All Hallows' Day."_

 _"Which makes it the best time for a summoning ritual,"_ Kuroo sighs. _"I'm still pretty sure they're doing it because of the atmosphere though."_

 _"They might know a thing or two about summoning, even if they're novices. The spell's working. The portal is already open. By the time we get there, the demon will be through. Kuroo, I want you to get the summoners out of there first, but make sure they don't run off before I speak to them,"_ Daichi instructs him.

_"Roger that. I don't know who I pity more—the demon or the summoners."_

Kuroo's paws touch down on the edge of the rooftop and Daichi doesn't hesitate, pulling out a spool of spiritually-charged thread from the pouch affixed to his waist and flinging it over the human bodies like a lasso. He counts five people, teenagers like Kuroo had guessed, looking up at him with wide angry and startled eyes, as he tightens the thread around them, slamming all of their bodies together as he wraps them up in an invisible binding cocoon. He snaps the thread from the spool and leaps from Kuroo's back, tossing him the end as he lands on the rooftop and rolls with the impact.

Kuroo snaps up the end of the thread in powerful jaws and leaps off the roof, taking the five people along with him, screaming all the way down. In the middle of the bloody sigil-filled circle on the rooftop, a dark figure rises from a swirling pool of viscous liquid, thick tendrils dripping off his body and falling slowly to rejoin the pool under him.

Daichi slams a talisman on the ground, activating a barrier spell and throwing up protective walls around the rooftop, to enclose and trap the demon from the rest of the world. When Daichi looks up, the demon smiles at him, the inky darkness flowing off him to reveal his features. From the waist up, he has all the characteristics of a charming human man, broad shoulders and a sculpted torso. Only the curved horns sprouting from his thick black hair give him away as a demon, as do his unnerving eyes which contain no irises but hold an all-encompassing black in its depths.

The demon takes a step forward and his hoof clicks against the concrete surface of the rooftop, his lower half bent and shaped in the likeness of that of a standing black goat's. He tilts his head quizzically as he surveys Daichi, his smile never leaving his face.

"Hello," the demon says, his voice smooth and alluring, every word sounding like a delicious morsel in his mouth. "Are you the one who summoned me? My, oh, my, you even look the part. What a cute-looking witch."

"You know I didn't," Daichi says steadily, meeting the demon's gaze head-on. There was a chance that the demon summoned could be reasoned with and persuaded to go back without a fight if he negotiated well enough. That was the preferable option, even if demon negotiations set Daichi on edge when they started to talk in clever circles, trying to weasel favours and things out of Daichi without him realising.

The demon shrugs, powerful muscles rippling in his shoulders. "So I do. I was just trying my luck. I know everything about the people who summoned me since they used their blood as a focal part but I was hoping to know more about you too, witch-kun."

The demon takes a wondering look around and he vanishes from Daichi's sight at the speed of a blink, his hooves slamming into the barrier wall curved around the rooftop. It doesn't even crack under the impact and the demon crouches there, upside-down on the underside of the barrier, as he whistles in admiration.

"I know this barrier," the demon says, his eyes curving up in a pleased smile, "And now I know you too. You're a Sawamura, aren't you? What a surprise! I thought the entire family died out years ago."

Daichi stiffens involuntarily and curses internally as the demon's eyes flick over him, obviously picking up on his reaction.

 _"Daichi?"_ Kuroo's voice sounds in his head, edged with worry.

"You're strong, aren't you, Sawamura-kun? The last remnant of the Sawamura clan. Your barriers could hold _forever_." The demon punctuates every word of his sentence by slamming a hoof against Daichi's barrier without making a dent in it. He looks straight at Daichi again, his head tilting in its idiosyncratic way as he offers, "Hey, do you want to form a contract with me?"

"No," Daichi says evenly.

The demon's eyes widen. "Oh? Why not? Are you attached already? But of course you are. A strong and cute one like you would have been long snatched up by someone else." He sighs expressively. "I knew I should have visited the human world earlier but Makki wanted me to wait for him so we could go together."

"You can't stay here."

"And why not?" In the blink of an eye, the demon returns to his original position in the middle of the circle and spreads his hands out to gesture at the blood and sigils around him. "I was so kindly invited here."

"This isn't your side of the world," Daichi says. "If you know about the people who summoned you, you should know what their intentions were."

The demon narrows his eyes at Daichi, but his demeanour still remains amiable. "So I do. They're boring and childish, with their thoughts of grandeur and revenge. But you're here too and you're far, far more interesting to stay for."

Daichi blinks and throws up a talisman in front of him just as the demon swings a fist at him up close, his casual and languid manner hiding a dangerous strength within. The hastily thrown up barrier shatters on impact but it does its work well enough, blocking the brutal punch aimed at Daichi's face. His other hand is already moving, reaching out for the demon's body with another talisman, another spell at his fingertips, and the demon leaps away, landing square in the middle of the circle again.

If negotiations fall through, Daichi's other option is to send the demon back from where it came from by force. It would take time to prepare another portal from scratch but the one under the demon's feet still looks workable. All Daichi has to do is to get to it and activate it again. The teenagers had done it through blood sacrifice, offering up an irretrievable piece of themselves in exchange for the demon's passage, but Daichi could do it by forcing his spiritual energy through the blood and sigils without the same cost.

Daichi had studied the sigils in the circle while the demon had been talking and he recognises that the demon was a denizen from the lower ranks. It made sense: no great demon would respond to the summons of a group of amateurs, but a lower ranked one might seize the opportunity to come through a gate when it was opened for them. The demon would try to keep Daichi away from the circle or try to destroy it if he was desperate enough to stay in the human realm, and he would have to come after Daichi's talisman next if he wanted to roam the human world freely.

Daichi braces himself over his barrier talisman, digging his feet into the ground and watching the demon closely, every inch of his body tingling with spiritual energy and ready to react to demon's next move. He had faced down worse, with or without Kuroo, and if it came down to a fight, the demon would find that Sawamuras were well worth their reputation.

"Well, it was illuminating speaking to you, Sawamura-kun." The demon stomps a hoof on the circle and the blood running through the lines and sigils begins to glow with an eerie crimson light. "I would have loved to stay if you offered me a place by your side but I'm afraid I have other commitments to be getting back to."

Daichi blinks, surprised by this turn of events. "What, so you're just _going_?"

"I promised Makki that I would see the human world with him and he isn't ready to come over yet." The demon shrugs. "I just came over for a quick jaunt since the opportunity presented itself but I never intended to stay, unless special circumstances called for it." He raises a handsome eyebrow at Daichi meaningfully. "Don't worry, I'll bring Makki over for a visit once we're both in the human world. I think he'll like you as much as I do."

"Please don't," Daichi mutters.

The demon smiles merrily at him as the concrete floor under the circle dissolves into a thick, viscous mass of dark liquid again, oozing and lapping at his hooves as he starts to sink into it. Daichi watches him go, every inch of his body still tense and ready for a fight if this happened to be a ruse. But he can sense the fabric between this world and the next thinning again, his senses tingling as a yawning portal opens up between the two worlds to take the demon back home.

 _"Daichi."_ A rush of wind announces Kuroo's arrival and Daichi's hat blows off his head, drifting along the rooftop as Kuroo lands lightly beside Daichi. As Daichi's familiar, Kuroo could pass through his barriers as he liked—unless the barrier was specially designed to keep Kuroo out—and he had probably rushed back as soon as he set down the five troublemakers somewhere safe and secure. _"I see you've settled things on your side."_

Daichi mentally sighs and leans against Kuroo's side for support, feeling enervated by his conversation with the demon even if they barely did any fighting. _"You could say that. I'll fill you in on it later."_

"Is that your partner?" the demon chimes in, already halfway through the portal as he gazes at Kuroo with bright black eyes. "A nekomata? What an interesting choice for you, Sawamura-kun."

Kuroo bristles at his side and Daichi grabs a handful of his fur warningly. If the demon was already peacefully leaving on his own, he doesn't want to provoke him and start an unnecessary fight.

The demon turns his gaze back on Daichi, his smile widening to show the many rows of sharp teeth lining the inside of his mouth. "From what I heard, a _certain_ family of exorcists who specialised in the barrier arts were wiped out by a single rampaging nekomata within their own home. A shame. You would have thought that they would keep their strongest spells to safeguard their home. And yet a single nekomata could break through it all and slaughter an entire family of exorcists. All, but one. What a tragedy, isn't it, Sawamura-kun?"

The yawning darkness in the portal swallows the demon whole, the tip of his curved horns disappearing into the circle, leaving behind words that echo mockingly in his absence. Daichi watches him go with unblinking eyes, the wind stinging his eyes and tugging at his cape. His hat is gone and the wind ruffles his short hair.

 _"Daichi."_ Kuroo steps closer to Daichi, blocking the wind with his body and lowering his head to nuzzle Daichi. _"He's gone. I can't sense him anymore."_

Daichi blinks, tugging at Kuroo's fur to ground himself, longing to just bury his face into Kuroo's warm side and ask him to take him home. Kuroo would do it in a heartbeat if he asks so Daichi doesn't ask. Instead, he steps away from him and takes a deep breath. The bloody circle still remains etched onto the rooftop even if the demon and the summoners are gone and he has to get rid of it first.

"Back to work, I guess," Daichi says.

\---

After sending the teenagers home with a lecture burning their ears and a charm each to keep them protected from the demon from the other side with their blood on his tongue, Daichi goes home. He climbs onto Kuroo's back, his fingers numb with cold as he clings onto Kuroo's thick fur.

A light object drops onto his head, put there by one of Kuroo's waving tails, and Daichi touches a hand to his head, finding his pointed witch's hat back where it belongs. He smiles wanly and pats Kuroo between the shoulders as he leaps into the sky, appreciating the thought, even if he doesn't feel up to celebrating Halloween anymore. Even Kuroo's bat wings seem less amusing than before and Daichi leans forward into Kuroo's warm fur, watching the skyline through half-closed eyes.

The streets are dark by the time they get home, the kids all tucked away safely at home by this hour, and Daichi opens his front door to bags of unopened candy sitting beside their unused bowls.

"Oh," Daichi says dully, staring at the candy. "I should have set it out for them before leaving."

 _"Don't be too hard on yourself."_ Kuroo winds around Daichi's legs comfortingly, reverted back into a simple black cat to fit in the house. _"You were in a rush. How about making some food? You had a grand feast planned for the night, didn't you?"_

"I'm not very hungry." Daichi slips off his hat and cape and drops them onto the sofa to worry about tomorrow. "I think I'll turn in early for the night."

Kuroo keeps pace with him, weaving back and forth worriedly, his body brushing against the side of Daichi's calf. Daichi crouches down to stroke Kuroo's soft head, murmuring goodnight to him before he leaves him at the threshold of his bedroom. In the cool darkness of his room, Daichi slips off his pants and lays out his futon, sliding in under the blankets to curl up on his side.

He won't be able to sleep tonight but he doesn't feel up to doing anything, not any of the fancy plans he had for Halloween or the simple things that made up his bedtime routine. He just feels numb, hollow on the inside, his hands and feet cold from riding in the night wind despite Kuroo burning like a steady furnace under him. Everything the demon had said had been right and Daichi wonders how much he knows. How much everyone knows about what happened nine years ago. For someone so close to the tragedy, as the demon put it, he feels like he doesn't know anything.

"Daichi." There is a knock on the door and a sliver of light filters in through Daichi's room, disturbed by the shadow of a tall, lanky figure. "I'm coming in."

The familiar smell of instant ramen wafts in with him and Daichi curls up tighter in the sheets, shutting his eyes tightly. His stomach grumbles.

"I can hear that you're hungry. You're always hungry, especially after a job." Kuroo bustles around the room, seeing perfectly in the dark, and he switches on a short lamp that serves as Daichi's bedside light. "Eat something before you go to sleep."

Daichi goes limp, letting all the tension seep out of his body. He _is_ hungry and Kuroo knows him too well after all this time they have been together. He sits up as Kuroo crouches by his bedside, finally making good use of his human form with his opposable thumbs to drag a low table to Daichi's side. He puts a steaming bowl of instant ramen on the table—taken straight out of Daichi's special stash, Daichi notes as he catches sight of the label—and sets a spoon and a pair of chopsticks beside it.

"I put an egg and some fried beancurd in it. If you're still hungry after this, I can put the rice on to cook and make you some riceballs." Kuroo cups Daichi's cheek, his hand warmed from the bowl, and Daichi looks up into his face, shadowed softly by the light and so kind. Kuroo's thumb brushes over Daichi's cheekbone, his eyes pools of melted gold in the warm light, filled with an emotion Daichi can't even begin to guess at even with their mental link.

Then Kuroo drops his hand and folds himself up into his compact housecat form, climbing into Daichi's lap and purring against his stomach. His little bat wings are still there, blending in perfectly with his sleek black fur, and Daichi strokes him from head to tail before he picks up the chopsticks and peels back the steaming lid of his ramen.

 _"Thanks, Kuroo."_ Daichi drops his head and rests his forehead against the top of Kuroo's furry head for a moment before he straightens up and starts to eat.

Kuroo curls up on Daichi's lap, content to watch Daichi eat and nibbling at a bit of fried beancurd that Daichi offers to him. _"I'll take care of you so you have to take care of yourself too, okay?"_

**Author's Note:**

> Note: They _still_ aren't in a romantic relationship yet.
> 
> Happy Halloween!!! So I wasn't going to write a Halloween fic until I saw [this magnificent picture of a black cat with bat wings](https://twitter.com/cutetendo/status/1048435120212983809) and was INSTANTLY seized by the desire to write cat!Kuroo with bat wings. Hence, this fic.
> 
> This AU actually does have an actual backstory behind it as you might have suspected but when will Daichi and Kuroo's full story be revealed? Perhaps in time (i.e. when I finally snatch the time to actually get some writing done. I have so many AUs I have to complete...). In the meantime, Daichi continues to live out his life as an exorcist with his nekomata familiar Kuroo as they go about fighting youkai and negotiating with demons and so on and so forth. ~~They're actually in a supernatural action shoujo manga but they don't know it.~~
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find me here: [tumblr](http://kythen.tumblr.com) / [twitter](http://twitter.com/catcrowcalls)


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